Geauga Humane Society offering mobile spay/neuter clinic

The Geauga Humane Society’s Rescue Village is taking applications for its Fix it in the Farmland program.

The mobile spay/neuter clinic offers residents, who might not otherwise be able to get to the society’s headquarters, or to a veterinarian’s office, the opportunity to have their pets spayed or neutered, said Executive Director Hope Brustein.

Brustein said the program, for which Rescue Village partners with PetFix Northeast Ohio, has been ongoing since 2010, during which time the program has spayed and neutered over 2,200 animals, “which is really large considering this is a rural community.”

“It’s home to 18,000 Amish people who would be unable to transport their animals to clinics,” Brustein said. “So we bring this low-cost, high-quality spay/neuter program to them.”

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She said it wasn’t the easiest program to usher into the community, but it’s become something Geauga County’s Amish and rural families have come to rely upon, she said.

“At the beginning, we had to establish trust and build new friendships,” she said. “Now, Fix it in the Farmland is considered an important resource in the community.”

Prices are $25 for cats and dogs under 50 pounds. Dogs over 50 pounds are $40. There is an additional $6 fee for rabies.

The mobile clinic will be in the Middlefield area throughout February and March.

“There is no other program like this in the United States,” Brustein said. “It is funded by grants and private donations and the co-pays that the pet owners make at the clinics.”

She added that “spaying and neutering of pets prevents the birth of more unwanted animals who wind up in shelters or in bad conditions. It’s also a health benefit to the dogs and cats.”

Anyone interested in signing up for the Fix it in the Farmland clinic may schedule an appointment by calling (440) 338-4819, ext. 21.